The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for providing a private consolidated cloud service architecture.
Recent trends in computer technology have progressed towards the use of cloud computing infrastructures and the use of cloud services to provide resources and functionality to users. In general, cloud computing refers to Internet-based computing where shared resources, software, and information are provided to users of computer systems and other electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones) on demand, similar to the electricity grid. Cloud computing provides a consumption and delivery model for information technology (IT) services based on the Internet and involves over-the-Internet provisioning of dynamically scalable and usually virtualized resources.
Cloud computing is facilitated by ease-of-access to remote computing websites (e.g., via the Internet or a private corporate network) and frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that a cloud consumer can access and use through a web browser, as if the tools or applications were a local program installed on a computer system of the cloud consumer. Commercial cloud implementations are generally expected to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of consumers and typically include service level agreements (SLAs). Cloud consumers avoid capital expenditures by renting usage from a cloud vendor (i.e., a third-party provider). In a typical cloud implementation, cloud consumers consume resources as a service and pay only for resources used.